In September I found myself in Perth attending a conference for work, with a few days either side to go botanising. I spent most of the time chasing orchids with Jean and a few exceedingly helpful locals, but one of the big highlights for me was an overnight trip to Jurien Bay and Leseur National Park for some general wildflower photography. I’d been to Leseur once before, so had an idea of what to expect, and it did not disappoint…
Grass trees at Leseur National Park, Western Australia.
Leseur is magical. Being a botanically minded soul fed on a diet of eastern Australian flora, there is something fantastical and otherworldly about the diversity and sheer boldness of colour and form in Western Australian wildflowers. Individually, there are plenty of cool plants in eastern Australia, but the amount of diversity in such a small area is just incredible.
Burchardia congesta at Leseur National Park.
Burchardia congesta against a burnt grass tree.
There is a fantastic drive trail that runs through the southern section of the park - a 18.5 km one-way road that is perfect for the botanist. All the aforementioned botanist has to do is drive slowly and, as soon as a cool plant is spotted, pull over and jump out of the car, camera at the ready. Although the actual driving doesn’t take long, it is exceedingly easy to spend the whole day jumping in and out of the car, pulling over every 100 m to investigate each beautiful display. And come back the next day to cover off on the bits there wasn’t time to fully explore.
The back of a flower of Pimelea floribunda at Leseur National Park.
Starting out at the beginning of the drive, I was greeted with plenty of Anigozanthos. I was unable to resist their colours, particularly the detail and incredible colour of the tiny hairs of the red and green kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos manglesii. The turquoise and crimson is quite a breathtaking combination.
Anigozanthos manglesii at Leseur National Park.
Anigozanthos manglesii at Leseur National Park.
Anigozanthos manglesii at Leseur National Park.
Anigozanthos humilis, the common cats paw, at Leseur National Park.
Of course, one of the big highlights is the diversity of Proteaceae - so many different species, colours and forms of Hakea, Grevillea, Banksia, Isopogon, Petrophile, Lambertia, Conospermum… the list goes on. The colours are impressive, but the diversity in leaf shape and form is also interesting. Each plant seemed to be bursting with flowers, trying to outperform its neighbours.
Isopogon asper at Leseur National Park.
Lambertia multiflora at Leseur National Park.
Petrophile rigida at Leseur National Park.
Petrophile brevifolia at Leseur National Park.
The rare Grevillea delta at Leseur National Park.
Hakea costata at Leseur National Park.
Conospermum nervosum at Leseur National Park.
One of the most colourful Hakeas I came across was a rare species, Hakea neurophylla, which is only known from the region. The individual inflorescences were beautiful, but the sight of the whole plant in full bloom, bright red and pink, was something to behold.
The rare Hakea neurophylla, known only from the Leseur - Enneaba area.
Hakea neurophylla at Leseur National Park.
Hakea neurophylla at Leseur National Park.
Hakea neurophylla at Leseur National Park.
Some of the peas were impressive too. I liked the Jacksonia in particular. I think I’ve got the identifications right, but pea identification has never been a strong suit of mine.
Jacksonia hakeoides at Leseur National Park.
Bossiaea eriocarpa at Leseur National Park.
Isotropis cuneifolia at Leseur National Park.
There were some beautiful myrtaceous things also. The Scholtzia was particularly nice, a small weeping shrub that looked almost entirely reddish pink with the amount of flowers on it.
Scholtzia laxiflora at Leseur National Park.
Scholtzia laxiflora at Leseur National Park.
Melaleuca radula at Leseur National Park.
Conothamnus trinervis at Leseur National Park.
There were orchids too, although these weren’t the main focus for me this trip. At one site though, I found literally hundreds of Caladenia longicauda and Caladenia hirta. The Caladenia/Cyanicula gemmata seemed to favour areas that had been recently burnt.
Caleana/Paracaleana nigrita at Leseur National Park.
Diuris tinkeri at Leseur National Park.
Caladenia occidentalis at Leseur National Park.
Caladenia longicauda at Leseur National Park.
Caladenia longicauda at Leseur National Park.
Hybrid between Caladenia longicauda and Caladenia lorea at Leseur National Park.
Caladenia hirta at Leseur National Park
Caladenia/Cyanicula gemmata at Leseur National Park
There were plenty of other fascinating plants too. The Diplolaena were particularly cool, and the ground-creeping Darwinia were very cute. At some spots there were lots of Stylidium adrosaceum, which looked to me like eccentric faces with spiky hair. Towards the end of the drive there was a nice forest of big cycads that had been burnt recently.
Diplolaena ferruginea at Leseur National Park.
Darwinia sanguinea at Leseur National Park.
Philotheca spicata at Leseur National Park
Stylidium adrosaceum at Leseur National Park.
Allocasuarina humilis at Leseur National Park.
Macrozamia fraseri at Leseur National Park.